The deal for Markovic gathered pace after Liverpool suffered a setback in their pursuit of Bayern Munich's XherdanShaqiri, who has become a target for Roma.

Sky Sport Italia claim the Serie A side are willing to pay £15 million for 22-year-old Shaqiri, per ChisangaMalata of the Daily Star, and have already made contact with the Switzerland international.

Markovic is now at the front of the queue as Liverpool plan for life without Luis Suarez—either temporarily due to his four-month ban or permanently if the Uruguayan joins Barcelona, as is expected according to Anderson—and is all set for a medical at Melwood.

And that’s excellent news for the Reds. Because while Shaqiri has already made his big career move—from Basel to Bayern in 2012—and is now looking for an exit strategy, Markovic is still eager for a chance to shine in one of Europe's top leagues.

Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic, who played with Markovic at Benfica until January, believes the youngster has the potential to become one of the best players in Europe.

"What can I say about Markovic? He has such massive potential that if he changed his attitude in training, he could be one of Europe's best players in his position. But he's young, he'll mature, and then nobody will be able to stop him!"

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has a history of coaxing the right attitude out of previously troubled players—such as Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge, not to mention what he has gone through with Suarez—so that should not prove to be too much of a problem.

And that's not to say that Matic isn't already a quality player. Benfica coach Jorge Jesus cajoled seven goals in 49 matches from the forward, who generally operates on the left or right flank, en route to winning the domestic treble last season.

Snapped up from Partizan Belgrade in 2013, his former coach Avram Grant was quoted by James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo as saying: "I can say that apart from [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, Markovic is one of the best talents I've ever seen at 19 years of age."

He is certainly not the finished article and can go missing in games, but the potential is there for all to see.

His single season at the Estadioda Luz suggests Markovic has every chance of making good on the hype. His ability to dribble at lightning pace with his head up and provide an end product, be it an incisive pass or a cool finish, marking him out as something special from the beginning.

Markovic can play out wide or as a striker, making him the perfect fit for Rodgers' fluid forward line at Anfield.

And given the manager's track record for getting the best out of the players at his disposal, few would bet against Markovic making a big impact on the Premier League, not least his former team-mate Matic.